During an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles on an airfield in the Novgorod region, Ukraine managed to completely destroy a Russian strategic bomber for the first time, The Moscow Times reports.

"At least one aircraft was damaged yesterday (August 19), the Russian Defense Ministry said. The photo shows a completely burned Tu-22M3," the publication writes.

It is also emphasized that Russia has lost the ability to provide an engineering and technical base for the production of new similar aircraft.

The publication notes that as a result of Ukrainian sabotage and attacks, more than ten Russian aircraft and helicopters were damaged or destroyed at air bases in different regions: Ryazan, Engelsk, Novosibirsk regions, as well as in Belarus and the occupied Crimea.

The issue of active sabotage operations was reportedly raised at meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military, who allegedly "swore" that such incidents would be prevented in the future.


It is worth noting that the Ukrainian authorities did not confirm their involvement in this incident.


As we reported earlier, photo of the Russian Tu-22M3 missile carrier-bomber was destroyed yesterday, August 19, at the Soltsy military airfield in the Novgorod region.